Packaging machine



1967 o. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 19s; 3 11 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS DAVID L HENDRICK JOHN, V. CROWDER B Y- 'I HTT ENE? Jan. '24, 1.967 D. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1963 I 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQRS DAVID L HENDRlCK JOHN v. CROWDEF? m'r way Jan. 24, 1967 o. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1965 11 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS DAVID L. HENDRICK JOHN l. CHOWDER 24, 1967 o. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE I\J\/ENTORS DAVID L.- ENDRlCK JOHN l. CROWDER 4) g Q BY? QT GENE? 24, 1967 D. HENDRICK ETAL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1963 Ticlil 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 QTT NEY Jan. 24, 1967 o. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1963 11 Sheets-Sheet 6 W :VIIIIIIII f M K 1% INVENTORS 366 327 DFWID L HENDRICK Y OHN V. CROWDEE 24, 1967 D. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTORS L. HENDRIOK DAVID JOHN w m BE F NWN mm m

Filed Oct. 24, 1963 Ndrmhplfin \l. CROWDER BY QT e/vav a 24, 9 o. L. HENDRICK ETAL I 3,

PACKAGING MACHINE 11 sheets sheet 8 Filed Oct. 24.v 1963 l lih,

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INVENTORS DFIVID L. HENDRICK JOHN \l. CROWDER Jal'l- 1967 D. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1963 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR5 DAVID L. HENDRICK JOHN \l. Craowoee HTT R NE Y D. L. HENDRICK ETAL 3,299,611

PACKAGING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Sheet 1O mm FEW:L T 1 E I- Lam 55 i Jan. 24, 1967 Filed Oct. 24, 1963 f i i rl L I.

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PACKAGING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed Oct. 24, 1963 m i E I @a $0 INVENTORS HENDRICK V CROWDER DAVID L.

JOHN

HTT RNEY United States Patent 3,299,611 PACKAGDIG MACHINE David L. Hendrick, Commack, and John V. Crowder, Bethpage, N.Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Consolidated Foods Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Maryland, doing business as Joe Lowe Company, Englewood, NJ.

Filed Oct. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 318,681

9 Claims. (Cl. 53-186) The present invention is directed to the art of packaging, and it has particular relation to a semi-automatic machine for erecting, positioning for filling, closing, sealing and stacking car-tons of the type used generally in the frozen food industry and especially cartons of the type used generally for merchandising a quantity of frozen confections in the conventional super market take home carton or package.

There are numerous machines on the market for handling the packaging of such articles, but most of them are entirely automatic and, as a consequence, are large and very expensive, being beyond the reach of the average manufacturer of frozen confections whose volume of production does not Warrant such an investment for packaging.

The present invention relates to a machine capable of opening or erecting a flat carton or blank, moving it forwardly to an erecting station, moving it forwardly in its erected position to a filling station where an operator can fill manually the same with theproper number of confections, whereupon the machine thereafter closes automatically the open bottom and top, moves the filled cartons forwardly for heat sealing and then stacks them in a vertical column for easy removal packaging or handling.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, durable and efficient semiautomatic machine for simplifiying the packaging of frozen confections in the smaller plants where a completely automatic machine cannot be used or warranted.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine of the character described which is not only efficient and durable, but relatively inexpensive ascompared to the fully automatic boxing and sealing machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide an efficient, inexpensive and durable packaging machine that can be tilted to an inclined position in either direction from the horizontal to facilitate the manual operation of filling required by the operator.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine of the class described which can be easily, quickly and inexpensively changed from a right hand operator position to a left hand operator position, depending upon the arrangement of the plant in which it is to be installed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the class described which can be easily and quick 1y adjusted as to height for the convenience of the operator.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention reside in the detailed construction of the several parts, which result in simplicity, economy an efiiciency, and which will be apparent from the following description, whereby a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, reference being had to the accompanying drawin-gs, forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals indicate like parts, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a flattened carton, showing the position of the transfer lugs which remove the carton from the supply magazine over and partially beyond the pre-break fingers;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIGURE 1 after it has been erected into its fully "ice opened position, and showing the position of the conveyor fingers, which move it through the remaining stations;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIGURE 2 after the same has been filled manually with its products, showing the front and rear side flaps folded inwardly;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIGURE 3 with its front and rear main top flaps folded downwardly;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIGURE 4 with the bottom, front and rear main flaps folded upwardly and sealed;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a machine embodying the several features of the invention, showing a supply of fiat folded cartons in the supply magazine, a flat unopened carton being moved into position for erecting, an open carton in position to be filled manually, a carton entering into station D, which contains the folding irons, and a supply of filled and sealed cartons stacked ready for removal from the machine;

FIGURE 7 is a front elevational view of the machine shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of the machine shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE '9 is an enlarged elevational view of the tilting mechanism, which permits the machine to be turned in either direction from its normal horizontal to facilitate the operator loading the confections through the open top end of the erected cartons;

FIGURE 10 is a vertical sectional view of the tilting mechanism shown in FIGURE 9, the same having been taken substantially along the line 1010 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged end elevational view of the machine, looking towards the supply magazine which contains the folded flat cartons to be erected and filled;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged detailed view of the adjustable stop mechanism shown in FIGURE 7, the same having been taken substantially along the line 1212 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 13 is a vertical sectional view of the stop mechanism shown in FIGURE 12, the same having been taken substantially along the line 1313 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged sectional view of the ejecting or removing mechanism shown in FIGURE 7 for removing the flat folded cartons from the supply magazine, the same having been taken substantially along the line 1414 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 15 is a vertical sectional View of the ejecting mechanism shown in FIGURE 14, the same having been taken substantially along the line 1515 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 16 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view of the ejecting mechanism shown in FIGURE 15, the same having been taken substantially along the line 1616 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the machine, showing the cams which actuate the operating control valves mounted on the frame structure;

FIGURE 18 shows the details of the cam and its actuating valve which controls the carton erecting operation;

FIGURE 19 shows in detail the conveyor chain advancing mechanism, which advances the erected carton through the machine;

FIGURE 20 is a sectional view of the conveyor mechanism shown in FIGURE 19, the same having been taken substantially along the line 2020 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 21 is a sectional view showing the heat sealing elements, adjustable elevator yielding and pressuring means and stops for supporting the stacked filled cartons, the same having been taken substantially along the line 2121 of FIGURE 7, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 22 is a vertical sectional view of the features shown in FIGURE 21, the same having been taken substantially along the line 22-22 thereof, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIGURE 23 is a schematic diagram of the pneumatic system operating and controlling synchronously the moving parts of the machine.

The carton or box Referring now to the drawings, and particularly FIG- URES 1 to 5, both inclusive, there is shown a representative style and type of carton 25 used in the machine. In FIGURE 1, the carton 25 is shown in its collapsed position or in the position it is received in stacks from the carton manufacturer. It will be noted in station A that the flat cartons 25 are stacked in the supply magazine with their main top and bottom end flaps 26a and 27a respectively, extending in the plane of the main bottom panel and with their heat sealing adhesive strips 26b and 27b facing upwardly. In FIGURE 1, there is also illustrated the position of the transfer lugs 125 and 127 which push the bottom carton 25 out from under the stack of collapsed cartons in the supply magazine.

In FIGURE 2, the carton 25 is illustrated in its raised or open position, as it is moved through station E by the conveyor fingers I56 and 158, which are shown in their upper extended position.

FIGURE 3 shows the erected carton 25 with its rear end flaps 26c and 26d and its front end flaps 27c and 27d folded inwardly as it leaves station C where the confections are manually packed therein.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the carton 25 with its main top flaps 26:2 and 27e folded downwardly, and FIGURE 5 shows the carton 25 with its final main bottom end flaps 26a and 27a folded upwardly, which illustrates the completely closed carton as it leaves station D for heat sealing at station E.

The machine Referring to FIGURE 6, there is shown a perspective view of the machine, which consists mainly of five stations through which the cartons 25 are fed intermittently, and it is believed a concise explanation of each station will greatly facilitate an understanding of the machine and its operations.

The first station A contains the supply magazine M, which holds a suitable supply of vertically stacked collapsed carton blanks 25 in the position shown in FIG- URE 1.

The second station B is the carton opening or erecting station at which point in the passage of the carton blank 25 through the machine, it is erected as best illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The third station C is the. carton loading station where the individually bagged frozen confections are delivered by a suitable conveyor mechanism, which forms no part of the present invention. It is at station C the hand filling of the partially erected carton is accomplished by the operator while the partially erected carton is sustained by appropriate guides. The operator, who is positioned at station C, where the manual start control is mounted, reaches over and across the erected and partially closed carton and, with suitable hand movements, transfers the confections, in turning them on their sides from the confection delivery conveyor through the open front end of said carton. When hand filling of the carton is accomplished by the operator, the side end flaps 27c and 27d are manually turned inwardly to their closed position, and the next movement of the machine carries the filled carton into the carton closing station D.

At station D, the main bottom end flaps 26:: and 27s of the carton are closed automatically as they pass between suitable plows or guides, and the end flaps 26a and 27a are also closed automatically by a second set of suitable plows or guides, and the closed carton is moved into station E, which is provided with spaced heating elements and an elevator.

At station E, the ends of the closed carton are heat treated to melt the seals 26b and 27b, and then the carton 25 is moved upwardly by an elevator into a vertical stacking arrangement whereby they can be easily and quickly removed manually from the open top in multiple groups to a suitable refrigerated storage chamber (not shown). Frequently, an inverted open ended paper bag is slipped over the stack of scaled cartons and a plurality of such cartons are removed as a group, filling the bag, which is then stored for future delivery.

The frame structure Referring now to FIGURES 6 and 11, there are shown in detail the features of the basic frame structure of the machine. Each end of the machine is provided with an upstanding truncated triangular frame 30 and 31, having a wide base member 32, upwardly extending and inwardly converging side members 34 and 36 connected at their upper ends by a relatively short horizontal top member 38. Each of the base members 32 is equipped with spaced conventional casters 39' to facilitate easy movement of the machine in the plant. The base members 32 are connected by a pair transversely spaced longitudinally extending bars 41 and 42, which are welded thereto. The bars 41 and 42 provide the necessary supports for mounting suitable brackets thereon to support the controls of the machine.

Mounted over the top member 38 of each of the triangular end frame structures 36) and 31 is an inverted U-shaped bracket 45, whose depending arms 47 and 49 extend along opposite sides thereof. The arms 47 and 49 are each provided with a pair of transversely spaced vertically extending slots 51 and 53. Bolts 55 and 57 extend through the aligned slots in each of the arms 47 and 49 and through an aperture extending horizontally of the top member 38. When the bolts 55 and 57 are loosened, the bracket 45 may either be raised and/or lowered with respect of its associated top member 38, as will hereinafter be described.

Since the operating parts of the machine are, as hereinafter described, mounted on the top surfaces of the inverted U-shaped brackets 45, it will be obvious that some mechanisms must be provided for raising and/or lowering said brackets 45. It will be noted in FIGURE 11 that a pusher plate 60 is welded to the underside of the base member of the bracket 45. A sleeve 62 is mounted fixedly in an aligned aperture extending vertically through the top member 38, and is provided with internal threads for receiving the threaded end of a rod 64, which will pass therethrough and engage the pusher plate 60'. The opposite free end of the rod 64 is provided with a hand-wheel 66 by which the rod 64 may be threaded into and through the sleeve 62. Obviously, the locking bolts 55 and 57 passing through the slots 51 and 53, respectively, must be loosened before the U-shaped bracket 45 can be moved in either direction. The amount of movement is limited by the length of the slots 51 and 53. When a desired position is reached, the bolts 55 and 57 must be tightened to maintain such position. When the hand-wheel 66 is motated in a clockwise direction, the rod 64 will thread itself upwardly through the sleeve 62, forcing the pus-her plate 60 upwardly and thereby raising the bracket 45. By turning the hand-wheel 66 in a counter-clockwise direction, the pusher plate 64 will thread itself downwardly through the sleeve 62 and will be lowered. The weight of the machine will cause the bracket 45 to follow the pusher plate 60. While only one way is shown for raising and/or lowering the height of the machine, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that other ways may be used without departing from the invention.

Mounted on the top surface of each of the brackets 45 is a split bearing member 61. The bottom halves of each of the bearing members 63 are secured to the brackets 45 by the bolts 65. A stub shaft 67 is mounted in each of the bottom halves 63 of the bearing member 61. The top halves 69 of the bearing member 61 may now be placed in position over the stub shafts 67, and secured to the bottom bearing halves 63 by bolts 71. A collar 73 is mounted over the projecting end of the stub shafts 67 and keyed thereto by a key 75. The inner face of the collar 73 is provided with a series of circumferentially spaced semi-spherical indentations 77. Each of the halves 63 and 69 of the bearing members 61 is provided with a spring-pressed ball 81 and 83, respectively. The balls 81 and 83 are not mounted diametrically opposite one another. Therefore, only one of them at a time may engage an indentation 77. This construction provides for rotation of the stubs shafts 67 in increments equal to onehalf of the distance between the centers of adjacent indentations, or, in the arrangement shown, in increments of approximately 7% degrees. Loosening of the bolts 71 permits rotation of the shafts 67, to the desired position, and tightening of said bolts 71 will secure said position. It will be obvious that there may be other ways of making the machine rotatable or tiltable from its normal horizontal position without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The inner faces of each of the stub shafts 67 has an enlarged face plate 91 welded thereto, as indicated at 93. See FIGURE 10. The face plates 91 are connected along opposite sides of the machine by longitudinally extending side plates 93 and 95, which will also serve as protective side guards for the operating mechanism.

The supply magazine The supply magazine M is mounted on top of a base plate 101, which is, in turn, welded to the upper edges of the side plates 93 and 95. This magazine M is of a conventional construction with an open top and back, and equipped with a fixed front 103 and adjustable sides 105 and 107 to permit the use of different sizes of collapsed cartons 25 capable of holding 4, 6, 8, and/ or 12 confections each. The sides 105 and 107 are easily adjustable to the size of different cartons since they are each mounted on the base plate 101 with bolts and wing nuts secured in suitable slots which limit the movement of the adjustments.

There is shown in FIGURES 12 and 13 an adjustable stop member 10 8-, which is mounted on the front 103 of the magazine M. This stop member 108 has a knurled Wheel 110 threadingly mounted on a vertical rod 112. The lower end of the rod 112 is welded to the top arm 114 of a Z-shaped strip 116, whose lower arm 118 projects below and horizontally under the front 103 of the magazine M. The arm 118 can obviously be adjusted vertically with respect to the base 101 of the magazine M by loosening the wing nut 120 passing through the slot 119, and then by turning the knurled wheel 110 so that only one carton can be moved under it at a time. Such an adjustment is necessary since cartons vary in thickness due to the weight of the material from which they are made. Cartons for a larger number of confections must be made of heavier board than cartons containing only a few confections.

Referring now to FIGURE 8, the base plate 101 is provided with a pair of transversely spaced longitudinally extending slots 121 and 123 within which are slidably movable reciprocating transfer lugs 125 and 127, respectively. When the transfer lugs 12.5 and 127 are moved forwardly, they engage the rear edge of the lowermost carton 25 in the magazine M and move it forwardly and out of said magazine into the erecting station B, as best shown in FIGURE 1. The transfer lugs and 127 are mounted on rails which are adjustable so that the full movement of the collapsed carton 25 from the magazine M will deliver it with an overlapping relation between a quarter and one-half inch of laterally spaced pre-break fingers. The amount of overlap will depend upon the height of the carton being filled. The higher the carton rises upon opening the greater the overlap of the pre-break fingers with the trailing edge thereof.

T he carton erecting station B When the lowermost carton 25 in the supply magazine M is removed therefrom by the transfer lugs 125 and 127, it is pushed directly into the erecting station B, which has a platform base 131 in the same horizontal plane as the base 101 of the magazine M. Mounted along opposite sides of the plat-form base 131 are a pair of longitudinally extending mounting strips 133 and 135. The strips 133 and 135 provide suitable means for mounting adjustably the guide strips 137 and 139, respectively, which serve to engage the sides of the car-ton 25 being moved forwardly over the base 101 and keep it in proper alignment. The guide strips 137 and 139 are adjustable laterally by means of the slots 141 and wing nuts 142. The strips 133 and 135 also serve as mounting means for suitable spring loaded hold-down rods 143 and 145, and for the longitudinaly spaced laterally extending spaced brackets 1'47 and 149, which serve as means for mounting a relatively wide top hold-down strap 150. The guide strips 137 and 139, the spring loaded hold-down rods 143 and 145, and the top strap are each made conventional-1y adjustable for handling different sizes of cartons or boxes =25. Since they are conventional, it is not believed necessary to describe in detail the structural features of the adjustments, which should be obvious to one skilled in the art.

By mounting the guide strips 137 and 139, the spring loaded hold-down rods 143 and 14 5 and the top strap 150 on the mounting strips 133 and 135, it is possible to substitute interchangeable members easily and quickly from one side of the machine to the other at the time of installation where a plant lay-out requires the operator to work on one specific side. It is necessary to use difierent spring loaded hold-down rods 143 and 145 and to move the knee starter control and the flap tucker to the opposite side of the machine. It will be obvious from the construction and mounting of the various parts that this can be done without requiring a rebuilding of the machine.

The pre-break fingers 152 and 154 are actuated by pneumatic pistons, which are of conventional construction, and serve to cause the collapsed carton 25 to be raised slightly, separating the top from the bottom 26 approximately onequarter of an inch between the spaced guides 137 and 139, 143 and 145 and the top guide strap 150. Their operation insures the complete erection of the carton 25 when the conveyor fingers 156 and 158 engage the trailing edge of said blank to move it forwardly in station B between the several guides.

The loading station C The operation of the conveyor 160 is best shown in FIGURE 8. The conveyor 160 has two laterally spaced and longitudinally extending conveyor chains 161 and 163, which operate from a point just beyond the prebreak fingers 152 and 154 in station B to the rear end of station D. The chains 161 and 163 operate over spaced sprocket wheels 165 and 167, which are, in turn, journalled on spaced shafts 168 and 169. The shaft 168 is clearly shown in FIGURE 14, and is provided with suitable spacers and bearing members 172. The shaft 169 is similarly constructed. The conveyor 160 is not motor driven, but secures its motive power from an air cylinder, having an extending piston rod, as will hereinafter be explained. The fingers 156 and 158 of the chains 161 and 163 are spaced, oppositely and are mounted fixedly on their respective chains. The top level of the conveyor 160 is slightly below the base 131 so that as the fingers 156 and 158 rotate over the sprocket wheel 165, they will engage the trailing edge of the partially opened box 25, causing it to be erected and then push it forwardly between the guides. There are suitable slots 157 and 159 in the base plate 131 for the fingers 156 and 158 to move therethrough. The conveyor 160 operates intermittently. One movement of the conveyor 160 erects the carton 25 and moves it beyond the pre-break fingers 152 and 154 to the middle of station C, where the operator fills manually the carton 25 with confections 28. When the opened carton 25 substantially reaches such loading position, a plow 174 engages the leading side end flap 26d and tucks or folds it into its final closing position. The plow 174 and its elongated guide bar 176 serve to hold this flap closed during the manual filling thereof. When an air cylinder 178 is actuated, its piston rod 183 will be projected. A plate 186 mounted on the free end of the piston rod 183 moves into position to close the rear trailing side end flap 260 of the carton 25, and then remains in such extended position to serve as a stop or back-up plate to prevent the operator from pushing the confections 28 therethrough. The air cylinder 178 has a guide rod 181 extending forwardly of its mounting bracket 179 and spaced from and paralleling its piston rod 183. The bracket 179 has an aperture for slidably receiving the guide rod 181. The forward end of the guide rod 181 is welded to the plate 186. This guide rod 181 serves to maintain the piston rod 183 and its face plate 186 in proper alignment at all times. When the conveyor 160 is again actuated, the plate 186 will be retracted so as not to be in the Way of the incoming and succeeding carton.

The carton closing station D After the carton 25 has been suitably filled with confections 28, the operator manually tucks in the two side end flaps 27c and 27d adjacent the open end of the carton through which the confections 28 were inserted. The operator now recycles the machine by pressing on the knee plate, and the filled carton 25 then passes under the next movement of the fingers 156 and 158 attached to the chain conveyor 160 with its four tucked-in end flaps between conventional folding irons 181 and 182, which fold down the end flaps 26c and 27e. A succeeding pair of folding irons 190 and 192 serve to fold in the top and bottom flaps 26a and 27a of the carton 25, as best shown in FIGURE 4. The closed but unsealed carton 25 is carried forwardly by the same movement into the sealing station E. The guides and folding irons in the carton closing station D are all of a conventional construction, which is well and understood by persons skilled in the art.

The carton sealing station E The carton sealing station E, which is best shown in FIGURES 21 and 22, contains the electrical heatsealing bars 191 and 193 and an elevator 196 for stacking the heat-sealed cartons 25 in a vertical column for easy removal or bagging.

The closed cartons 25, as they leave the folding irons 190 and 192 of station D are moved between oppositely spaced lateral thermostatic controlled heater bars 191 and 193, which extend longitudinally of the machine within the confines of the elevator shaft. As the cartons 25 are moved between said heater bars 191 and 193 they engage a stop 195, which is adjustably mounted on the top side of the elevator platen 196 and controls the position of the carton thereon. The vertical sides 185 and 187 of the elevator shaft 194 are adjustable through slots and bolts, as indicated at 198 in FIGURE 21, which assures proper contact adjustment with the sides of the cartons 25 even when different sizes are used from time 8 to time. It will be noted in FIGURE 21 that the heater bars 191 and 193 are adjustable vertically in a conventional manner as indicated at 199. The vertical adjustment 199 is necessary to insure that the heating bars 191 and 193 are in horizontal alignment with the adhesive strips 26b and 27b, which vary in height depending on the height of the carton. The horizontal adjustment of the vertical sides and 187 is necessary to insure the movement therebetween of different sizes of cartons. When the heater bars 191 and 193 make insufiicient contact, a poor heat-seal is effected, and, when the contact is too heavy, there is a tendency to scorch the flaps of the carton or overheat the adhesive.

The closed cartons 25 remain between said heater bars 191 and 193 during one movement of the machine, and then the elevator platen 196 is actuated by means of a pneumatic cylinder 197 and piston rod 199 to raise the same, thereby moving the sealed carton 25 beyond the longitudinally spaced series of one way pivotal stops 201 and 22, being one series on each side of the vertical sides 1'85 and 187 of the elevator shaftway 194, which prevent gravitational descent of the cartons when the elevator plate 196 is withdrawn or lowered for receiving the next succeeding carton. The elevator platen 196 has a depending guide bar 291 secured, as indicated at 203, to the underside of its platen 196, which guide bar p-rojects downwardly through an aperture in a supporting bracket 205. The guide bar 281 is spaced from the piston rod 199, thereby providing spaced gu-ide'ways for controlling the vertical alignment of the elevator platen 196 when it moves upwardly and downwardly within its shaft 194.

Depending downwardly from the elevator platen 196 are spaced pairs of depending strips 198, which serve as stop members to prevent succeeding cartons from entering the elevator shaft 194 of station E while the elevator 196 is in an elevated position.

The vertical sides 185 and 187 forming the elevator shaft 194 above the heating bars 191 and 193 are formed of a series of spaced slats 207 along the two opposite longitudinal sides of the machine. The inner or receiving side of the elevator shaft 194 is open except for a laterally extending cross bar 211, which serves as a support for a vertically extending guide bar 213, whose lower end is inclined inwardly to insure clearance of the closed carton 25 as it is being moved into said shaftway 194. The stop and the bar 213 assures squaring of the carton on the elevator platen 196 in the shaftway 194. The front or forward end of the elevator shaftway 194 is substantially open except for the stop 195, which controls the forward distance which the incoming carton 25 :may he moved into said elevator shaftway. It will be noted that the stop 195 is provided with spaced slots 217 and 2119 opening forwardly, which permits adjustment for different sizes of cartons 25 when the nuts 221 and 223 are loosened.

The vertical Side 185, which has slats 2117 mounted thereon in a spring bias manner, as indicated at 288, as best shown in FIGURE 21, permits the cartons 25 to pass upwardly unrestricted by having spring-urging elements mounted therein to insure proper pressure remaining on the heat-sealed flap 26a and 27a until the adhesive has set thoroughly.

The operating mechanism The operating mechanism for movement of the cartons 25 through the machine is controlled by the actuation of a single pneumatic cylinder 230, having a piston 232 and rearwardly extending piston rod 234. See FIG- URE 7.

Referring now to FIGURES 19 and 20, the piston rod 234 has a tie block 236 mounted threadingly thereon, which is substantially square shaped. Mounted on each side of the tie 'block 236 are pusher dogs 238 and 249. The upper end of the pusher dogs 23 8 and 249 are adapted 9 to engage a series of longitudinally spaced lugs 242 and 244, respectively, which are fixedly mounted on the conveyor chains 161 and 163. The pusher dogs 238 and 240 are each mounted piv'otallly, as indicated at 243, on the block 236, and are spring retractable, as indicated at 246. Stops 248 and 250 prevent the dogs 238 and 240 from pivoting beyond the vertical when the piston rod 234 is moved backwardly or to its rearwardly extended position. There being no stops in the opposite direction, the pus-her dogs 238 and 240 will pivot to permit passage of the lugs 242 and 244 when they are moved forwardly. In this manner, the chains 161 and 163 are engaged along their lower runs by the pusher dogs 238 and 240 engaging their fixed lugs 242 and 244. Consequently, when the piston rod 234 is extended hackwardly, it carries the lower runs of the chains 161 and 163 backwardly, thereby moving the upper runs of the chains forwardly the distance of the stroke of the piston rod 234. When the upper runs of the chains 161 and 163 are moved forwardly, their upwardly projecting fingers 156 and 158 extending through the slots in the plate 131 will engage the rear edge of the partially erected carton 25 and will complete the erection and then move it forwardly of the pre-break fingers 152 and 154 in station B into and through the guides 137 and 139, 143 and 145 and under the top guide 150 to the loading station C.

The frame structure 251 has a bracket 260 mounted on its bottom side, which has a cam 262 for engaging a pivotal arm 264 for .forcing it into contact with a control valve 266 that controls the operation of the elevator platen 196. The arm 264 is mounted pivotally for movement forwardly when the piston rod 234 is moved forward or retracted. The arm 264 is spring retractable, as indicated at 268, so that when the piston rod 234 is extended, the cam 262 will pass thereover. The spring 268 maintains the arm 264 normally in a horizontally extended position inwardly of the machine, and its movements are indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 17.

The frame structure 251 also carries a second longitudinally extending bracket 270, which, in turn, supports an elongated rail cam 272. The cam 272 engages a pivotal arm 274, which strikes a valve 276 that, in turn, controls the operation of the piston carrying the rear flap holder bar 186. The pivotal arm 274 is spring retractable, as indicated at 278, which spring maintains said arm 274 normally in a horizontal position extending inwardly o'f t'he machine. The dotted line position shows the movement of the arm 274. The length of the rail cam 272 keeps the rear flap holder back While a carton 25 is being moved into position for loading. Immediately before the end of the backward movement of the cam 272, the pivotal arm 274 is released, causing the rear flap holder bar 186 to move forwardly closing the flap 26C of the carton 25. The bar 1% remains in its extended position While the carton 25 is being filled manually to prevent the confections 28 from being pushed therethrough.

The bracket 281 has a downwardly extending cam 302, which serves to operate a bleeder valve 304, which, in turn, is mounted on a pivotal bracket 306, as indicated at 308. The opposite end of the bracket 306 is slotted, as indicated at 310, to removably secure the same in different positions, as indicated by the wing nut 312. The arrangement of bracket 306, as shown, is mounted for automatic recycling. When recycling is under control of the operator through the foot or knee lever 412, the bracket 306 is moved rearwardly sufficiently to prevent the cam 302 from contacting the switch 304.

The bracket 314 has a depending cam 316, which strikes a bleeder valve 318, as shown in FIGURE 7, at the end of the forward or retracting stroke of the piston rod 234, which reverses the air in the cylinder 230 and causes its piston rod 234 to be extended again where it will remain until the machine is recycled either manually or automatically.

The rear end of the frame structure 236 has a threaded aperture for receiving the threaded forward end of a tie rod 283. (See FIGURE 19). The rod 283 extends rearwardly of the machine and has its opposite end suitably secured in a laterally extending vertical movable plate 285. See FIGURES 14, 15 and 16. The plate 285 is, in turn, mounted fixedly on transversely spaced longitudinally extending sleeves 287 and 289 which are provided with longitudinally spaced bearings 291 and 293. The sleeves 287 and 289 are, in turn, mounted on fixed supporting rods 295 and 297. The rods 295 and 297 are secured at their rear ends in a vertical plate 91, and at their forward ends in a vertical plate 303. (See FIG- URE 7).

Mounted horizontally on top of the movable plate 285 is a horizontally extending plate 305, which is equipped on its upper surface with two laterally spaced and longitudinally extending rails 307 and 309 suitably secured by bolts 311 and 313, respectively. Mounted adjacent the rear ends of each of the rails 307 and 309 are the carton pusher lugs and 127, respectively. These lugs 125 and 127 are mounted on the rails 307 and 309 by set screws 317.

Referring now to FIGURES 15, 17 and 18, there is shown an L-shaped bracket mounted on the bottom of the plate 285 with its longer arm 323 extending horizontally backwardly and its shorter arm 324 extending downwardly. A second angular bracket 327 is mounted pivotally on the bracket arm 323, as indicated at 329, and has a retracting spring 331 connecting its vertical arm 333 to the vertical depending arm 325. The spring normally holds the vertical arm 333 in its vertical position against the depending arm 325, which acts as a forward stop. The horizontal arm 325 normally extends parallel to the arm 323 and is free to pivot backwardly. The arm 327, when the plate 285 is moved forwardly, engages an arm of a valve 341, which, in turn, actuates a valve 343 that controls the cylinders 345 and 347, whose piston rods form the pre-break fingers 152 and 154 that causes the collapsed carton 25 to be broken in the erecting station B. By making the cam arm bracket 327 pivotal, the prebreak fingers 152 and 154 will not be actuated on the return stroke of the main carriage.

The pneumatic system Referring now to FIGURE 23, there is shown schematically the details of the pneumatic system for a better understanding of the operating structures of the machine.

The operating air pressure is secured from an outside source of supply (not shown) through a main pipe line 379, equipped with a manual shut-off valve 380, which permits the air pressure to be shut entirely off when the machine is not to be operated. The air, after passing through the valve 380, passes through a pipe line 381 into a conventional condensation ejector 382, a conventional air pressure regulator 384, a conventional air line oiler 386, and into a pipe line 388, leading into a conventional air manifold 390 from which it is suitably distributed, as will hereinafter be described.

From the air manifold 390, one pipe line 392 passes the air into a convenitonal four-way valve 394. From the four-way valve 394 air may be passed through a pipe line 396 into the main air cylinder 230, causing its piston rod 234 to be retracted, and through a pipe line 398 into the opposite side of the air cylinder 230, causing the piston rod 234 to be extended. A third pipe line 400 leads from the four-way valve 394 to a solenoid valve 401, which when actuated by the micro-switch 405, closes ofit the passage of air into the bleeder valve 318. The solenoid valve 401 is electrically connected by the wires 403 to a normally open micro-switch 405 mounted below the elevator platen 196. The micro-switch 405 has an operating arm 407 which is actuated by a rod 409 projecting downwardly from below the platen 196. When the rod 409 is not pressing against the arm 407 of the microswitch 405, the solenoid valve 401 will not allow air to pass into the bleeder valve 402, thereby preventing the next extension stroke of the piston 234 of the air cylinder 230. A fourth pipe line 404 leads from the four-way valve 394 to a manually operable three-way valve 406. The three-way valve 406 has a line 408 leading to a bleeder vlave 410, which is controlled through a knee or foot operable lever or pedal 412 that can be actuated by an operator when desired. The manually operable valve 406 has a second pipe line 414 leading therefrom to a bleeder valve 304, which is operated by the cam 302 to cause automatic re-cycling of the machine. The purpose of the three-way valve 406 is to allow either manual or automatic recycling of the machine.

The air manifold 390 has a second pipe line 420 leading therefrom that operates a conventional air cylinder 197, which has a built-in four-way valve, whose piston rod operates the elevator platen 196. The air cylinder 197 has an automatic built-in return connected by a bypass line 424 for reversing its movement.

The air manifold 390 has a third air line 430 leading therefrom through a needle valve 431 for adjusting the speed of the operation of the air cylinders 345 and 347. From the needle valve 431 air is passed through a line 432 into the four-way valve 343, which, in turn, has two outlet pipe lines 434 and 436. The outlet pipe line 434 has two branch pipe lines 438 and 440. The branch pipe line 438 leads to an air cylinder 347, operating the pro-break finger 154, and the branch pipe line 440 leads to an air cylinder 345, operating the pre-break finger 152. The opposite end of the air cylinder 345 has a pipe line 446 leading back to the branch pipe line 436, and the opposite end of the air cylinder 347 has a pipe line 448 leading back to the branch pipe line 436. Obviously, the four-way valve 343 controls the air operating the cylinders 345 and 347, and their respective pistons rods, which form the pre-break fingers 152 and 154, either to extend or retract the same simultaneously.

The air manifold 390 has a fourth outlet pipe line 450, leading to a four-way valve 276. The four-way valve 276 has a line 454 leading to one end of the air cylinder 178 and a second line 458 leading to the opposite end of said air cylinder 178. The valve 276 controls the operation of the air cylinder 178, whose piston rod 183 has the tucker plate 186 mounted on its outer end thereof, and is actuated by the cam arm 274.

The operation of the machine It is believed the operation of the machine will be quite obvious from the previous description, but that a concise statement of the sequence of operation will nevertheless be helpful.

The operating air pressure has been obtained from an outside source of supply (not shown) and is received through the pipe line 380, passing through the condensation ejection 382, pressure regulator 384 and air line oiler 386 is delivered by the pipe line 388 into the air manifold 390. The air pressure is distributed by the air manifold 390 to the air cylinder 197 and valves 394, 343 and 276. The machine is now in normal operating position with the piston rod 234 of the main air cylinder 230 in its extended position. In this position, the transfer lugs 125 and 127 are all the way back and behind the column of stacked collapsed cartons 25 in the magazine M.

When the operator is ready to start the machine, pressure is applied to the knee pedal 412, which will actuate the bleeder valve 41!), thereby causing the four-way valve 394 to by-pass air into the pipe line 396 to cause the piston rod 234 of the main air cylinder 230 to be re tracted. Retraction of the piston rod 234 causes the transfer lugs 125 and 127 to push the bottom carton 25 from the bottom of the stack of collapsed cartons in the magazine M. The transfer lugs 125 and 127 will move the bottom carton from station A into the erecting station B.

On the early part of the retraction stroke of the piston rod 234, the air cylinder 197, whose piston rod 199 operates the elevator platen 196 has its upward or extending stroke controlled by the bleeder valve 266, whose arm is actuated by the pivotal lever 264, which, in turn, is controlled by the cam 262. See FIGURE 17. The cam 262 controls the movement of the elevator platen 196 upwardly to raise the closed carton from between the heating elements 191 and 193 into the compression section of the elevator shaftway 194. When the elevator platen 196 is raised, its depending arm 409 will also be raised, releasing the control arm 407 of the micro-switch 405, thereby causing the solenoid valve 401 to close off its air to the bleeder valve 318, which, in turn, controls the four-way valve 394, thereby preventing the next extension stroke of the piston 234 of the air cylinder 230. Therefore, no carton 25 can be moved between the spaced heaters 191 and 193 mounted in the bottom of the shaftway 194. An automatic return on the air cylinder 197 will cause the piston rod 199, operating the elevator platen 196, to be retracted, thereby lowering the same in time to receive the next succeeding carton. A conventional air speed control (not shown) on the four-way valve 197 may be used to secure a fast lowering stroke of the elevator platen 196 in time to receive the next succeeding carton.

When the spring-loaded arm 327 carried by the sliding carriage 285 of the transfer lugs and 127 engages the operating arm 341 of the four-way valve 343, delivering air pressure to the cylinders 345 and 347, it will cause their respective piston rods to be extended, which piston rods form the pre-break fingers 152 and 154 that partially erects the collapsed carton in the erecting station B. When the arm 327 disengages the operating arm 341 of the four-way valve 343, the pro-break fingers 152 and 154 will be retracted.

On the extension stroke of the piston rod 234, the dogs 238 and 240 mounted on the block 236 engage the fixed lugs 242 and 244 on each of the chains 161 and 163, moving its lower run backwardly of the machine, thereby causing its upper run to be moved forwardly. The chains 161 and 163 carry on their upper run upwardly projecting fingers 156 and 158, which engage the rear end of the partially erected carton 25, moving it forwardly from station B to station C.

The four-way valve 276 is actuated by the cam 272 engaging the operating arm 274, causing the piston rod 183 of the air cylinder 178 to be retracted to permit a carton to be moved thereby. Immediately after the cam 272 releases the operating arm 274, the tucker plate 186 will be moved against the end tab 26c to close the same. The erected carton 25 is now at rest in station C for filling manually with confections by the operator. The operator, when the carton is filled with confections 28, turns inwardly the end closure flaps 27c and 27d, and then presses against the knee plate 412, which recycles the machine for its next succeeding operation.

On the next cycle of operation, the filled carton 25 is moved to station D and into the folding irons 181 and 182 which turn down the top flaps 26c and 27a and then the folding irons and 192 turn the flaps 26a and 27a upwardly. From station D the closed carton is moved forwardly on the top side of the elevator platen 196. When the folded and closed carton 25 is positioned on the elevator platen 196, it is stationed between the spaced electric heaters 191 and 193 for reactivating the adhesive strips 26b and 27b.

When the machine is again operated, the elevator platen 196 moves the heat-sealed cartons 25 upwardly in its shaftway 194 beyond the pivotal stops 201 and 202 before reaching the upper limits of its travel. The elevator platen 196 returns automatically and the discharged cartons 25 will gravitate until the bottom carton strikes the stops 201 and 202. The stops 201 and 202 cannot pivot downwardly and are capable of supporting the stack of cartons.

By extending the elevator shaftway 194 upwardly a substantial distance above the pivotal stops 201 and 202, it is possible to stack a series of closed and sealed cartons 25 in a single vertical column, as best shown in FIGURE 6. This stacking permits the adhesive strips 26b and 27b to cool, thereby permanently sealing the carton. When the column of scaled cartons 25 extends to the upper limits of the elevator shaftway 194, an open ended inverted paper bag (not shown) may be slipped manually over the top of the column and then removed with a multiplicity of cartons enclosed therein. These bags, containing a desired number of sealed cartons, are transferred readily to a refrigerated storage room and are used in making the ultimate delivery of the confections to the customers.

Although we have shown and described but one form which the invention may assume, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not to be so limited, but that various other and further modifications may be made therein without departing therefrom.

What we claim is:

1. A carton feeding, erecting, filling, closing and sealing machine of the class described, in which the power means for moving a carton through the machine comprises a single air cylinder having a reciprocating piston rod, whereby the collapsed carton is selected and removed from a carton magazine on one stroke of said rod and the carton is erected and moved from station to station by means of a chain conveyor which is moved intermittently on the other stroke of said piston rod, and means for restarting the machine upon completion of each cycle thereof.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, in which said end supports include means for adjusting the height of said frame member with respect to the floor on which said spaced end supports rest.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, in which said end supports include means for rotating said frame member with respect to said end supports.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, in which said end supports include means for adjusting the height of said frame member with respect to the floor on which said spaced end supports rest and means for rotating said frame member with respect to said end supports.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the selecting means for removing a collapsed carton from the supply magazine comprises a slidable carriage having transversely spaced lugs for engaging the rear edge of the lowermost carton in said magazine and sliding it outwardly and forwardly of said magazine into said carton erecting station when said piston rod is being moved in one direction, said slidable carriage being returned to its normal selecting position with its lugs positoned behind said stack of cartons in said magazine when said piston rod is being moved in the opposite direction, and means for adjusting the position of said lugs longitudinally of said carriage.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the means for moving the selected cartons into erecting position in said erecting station, from said erecting station to said filling station, from said filling station to said closing station and from said closing station to said sealing station comprises an endless conveyor having a series of longitudinally spaced projecting fingers for engaging the rear edge of said cartons while in -a collapsed position in said erecting station, said endless conveyor being movable intermittently to advance the erected cartons one station on each same directional stroke of said piston rod.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the erecting station is provided with spaced pre-break fingers which are projectable upwardly under the trailing edge of said collapsed carton delivered from said magazine for causing a partial erection of said carton prior to the time it is engaged by the fingers of the chain conveyor to complete its erection and movement into said filling station.

8. A carton feeding, erecting, filling, closing, sealing and stacking machine of the class described, in which the power means for moving a carton through the machine comprises a slidable carriage having spaced lugs for selecting the lowermost carton in a carton supply magazine and moving it outwardly and forwardly into a carton erecting station, an endless conveyor having longitudinally spaced fingers for engaging the rear edge of said carton in said carton erecting station and advancing it intermittently through said erecting station, a filling station, a carton closing station and a carton sealing station, said slidable carriage having a tie rod projecting forwardly below said conveyor, an air cylinder having a reciprocating piston rod extending rearwardly below said conveyor, means connecting said tie rod and said piston rod longitudinally, said piston rod having dogs which engage the conveyor and move it forwardly with each extension thereof but which do not engage said conveyor to move it when said rod is being retracted, and means for operating said piston.

9. A carton feeding, erecting, filling, closing and a combined sealing and stacking machine of the class described, in which the power means for moving a carton through the machine comprises a slidable carriage having spaced lugs for selecting the lowermost carton in a carton supply magazine and moving it outwardly and forwardly into a carton erecting station, an endless conveyor having longitudinally spaced fingers for engaging the rear edge of said carton in said carton erecting station and advancing it intermittently through said erecting station, filling station, closing station and said combined sealing and stacking station, means for operating said conveyor, said combined and sealing and stacking station having an elevator normally in the plane of said closing station for receiving cartons therefrom, s-aid elevator having means for intermittently raising and lowering the same to cause a vertical stacking of the cartons above said sealing means, said elevator having means depending from its receiving edge for preventing cartons being moved into said sealing station when the same is not in its normal receiving position, said elevator having means for shutting off the air pressure supply to said machine in the event the elevator does not return promptly to its normal receiving position after moving a carton into stacking arrangement.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,832,410 11/1931 Myers 5339-0 2,660,844 12/1953 Schroeder 53l86 2,831,300 4/1958 Schroeder 53l86 X 2,998,685 9/1961 Ganz 53l86 X 3,225,512 12/1965 Bulger et al. 53l86 X FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner. S. ABEND, N. ABRAMS, Examiners. 

1. A CARTON FEEDING, ERECTING, FILLING, CLOSING AND SEALING MACHINE OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, IN WHICH THE POWER MEANS FOR MOVING A CARTON THROUGH THE MACHINE COMPRISES A SINGLE AIR CYLINDER HAVING A RECIPROCATING PISTON ROD, WHEREBY THE COLLAPSED CARTON IS SELECTED AND REMOVED FROM A CARTON MAGAZINE ON THE STROKE OF SAID ROD AND THE CARTON IS ERECTED AND MOVED FROM STATION TO STATION BY MEANS OF A CHAIN CONVEYOR WHICH IS MOVED INTERMITTENTLY ON THE OTHER STROKE OF SAID PISTON ROD, AND MEANS FOR RESTARTING THE MACHINE UPON COMPLETION OF EACH CYCLE THEREOF. 